Vine Quick Reads: 3 July 2025

Vine Quick Reads: 3 July 2025

Welcome to our Quick Reads format. Each week we share selected news bites relevant to family violence and sexual violence in Aotearoa.

Registrations open: 2025 He Pounga Waihoe Nā ō Mātua Symposium

Registrations have opened for He Pounga Waihoe Nā ō Mātua Symposium 2025, hosted by Te Atawhai o Te Ao at Whangaehu Marae in Whanganui on 24 July 2025. The symposium explores Māori experiences of intergenerational trauma, recovery and healing. To register and to learn more, visit 2025 He Pounga Waihoe Nā ō Mātua Symposium.

New report from the 2024 Oranga Tamariki (OT) Annual Caregiver Satisfaction Survey

Oranga Tamariki have released Annual Caregiver Satisfaction Survey: Deep Dive — Strengthening the caregiver experience (2025). This report provides insights and practical recommendations for improving and strengthening caregivers’ experiences of support across a range of critical areas. These include education, health, financial assistance, social worker practice, child transitions, communication with OT and timely access to support, training, and respite.

Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill passes into law

The Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill received Royal Assent and came into force on 29 June 2025. The Act primarily amended the Sentencing Act 2002, increasing its punitive capacity. Changes include:

• Reductions to sentencing discounts for personal circumstances, youth and remorse, and early guilty pleas;
• Encouraging the use of cumulative sentencing for offences committed while out on bail;
• A new aggravating factor related to retail crime;
• The amendment of aggravating factors related to victims in state or faith-based care and the age victims — progressing recommendations made in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care; and,
• Amending the principles of sentencing to include a requirement to consider any information provided to the court about victims’ interests.

For more, see RNZ’s coverage or read the Bill.

United Nations (UN) seeking submissions on addressing discrimination against women and girls with disabilities

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has issued a call for written submissions on the draft guidelines on addressing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination against women and girls with disabilities. This comes in response to gaps found in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding articles 5 (non-discrimination), 6 (women with disabilities), and 16 (protection against violence, exploitation and abuse). More information is available on the key questions and types of input/comments sought and how to make a submission.

Submissions are due 15 September 2025.

Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill passes into law

The Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent on 30 June 2025 and take effect from 1 August 2025. The Bill amends the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022 and Children and Young People’s Commission Act 2022.

This will transition:

• The Monitor from a departmental agency to an independent Crown entity with a small multi-member board; and
• The Children and Young People’s Commission from an independent Crown entity led by a multi-member board to an independent Crown entity led by a single Children’s Commissioner.

The Monitor’s current Chief Executive, Arran Jones, and the current Chief Children’s Commissioner, Dr Claire Achmad, will remain in place for one more year from 1 August 2024. For more, read the Bill online.

Victims of Sexual Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Bill passes into law

The Victims of Sexual Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Bill received royal assent on 30 June 2025. This ensures victims of sexual violence under the age of 12 can no longer be questioned in Court about whether they consented to the offending. The Bill also increases victims’ autonomy in sharing the details of their case and makes permanent name suppression for the convicted offender dependent upon the victim’s agreement. Mana Mokopuna Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad commented on the law change. For more, see RNZ coverage and read the Bill.